Muslims living in the West face numerous challenges. On the one hand, the Western assumptions which are shown in different types of stereotypes and communal prejudices influence Muslims' lives and, on the other, diaspora affects their identities. These challenges make Muslim identity unstable between a sense of belonging to the culture of origin and a sense of adaptation of the host culture. Consequently, Muslims in the West live in between two cultures, constantly negotiating their identities. Thus, this thesis pivots on representing Muslim groups within Western societies in fiction by three cu1tura1ly deracinated contemporary Muslim women writers, exploring the postcolonial key concepts of identity, diaspora and alterity. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the challenges that Muslim characters face; to explicate how marginality influences them; and to explore the reasons and how they negotiate their identities in diaspora in the following selected novels: Umm Zakiyyah's If I Should Speak (2000) and Muslim Girl (2014) from the USA; Randa Abdel-Fattah's Does My Head Look Big in This? (2005) and The Lines We Cross (2016) from Australia; and Naima B. Robert's From Somalia with Love (2008) and Boy vs. Girl (2010) from the UK. To do so, this qualitative and non-empirical research is conducted in a descriptive-theoretical analysis, using the selected novels as primary sources and library and online critical materials, such as books and journal articles, as secondary references. The selected writers' novels would further supply sufficient evidence on the forming of identity and identity conflicts that arise due to the contact between essentialism, diaspora and hybridity, and the fact that Muslims in the West are known for cultural diversity by examining the different and various cultures that are represented. Since in America, Australia and the UK Muslims are from different continents, countries, backgrounds and cultures, it is hoped that a rich cultural knowledge of their similarities and diversities would be elicited from this study.

This study examines the concept of Islamic civilizational acquaintance as a framework aimed at normalizing relations among diverse peoples and strengthening communication between nations and civilizations. Through its seven chapters, the study explores the potential application of this framework to enhance relations between the Kurds and the Arabs in Iraq. In this study, the researcher adopted a scientific methodology that combines induction, critical analysis, comparative, descriptive, and scientific interviews according to the nature of the issues addressed in the research chapters. This research explores the concept of Islamic civilizational acquaintance by examining its meanings, characteristics, goals, and value system, with the aim of applying these principles to rebuild Arab-Kurdish relations in Iraq. This approach seeks to address the Kurdish issue in the country within the framework of Islamic acquaintance. This study examines the Arab-Kurdish conflict in Iraq, analyzes the negotiations and communications that took place between both sides and highlights the lack of mutual recognition and the absence of principles of Islamic acquaintance in those discussions. According to this research, the Kurdish matter in Iraq can be addressed through the Islamic civilizational acquaintance approach due to the strong and enduring presence of Islamic reference in both Kurdish and Arab societies. This study concludes by proposing a civilizational acquaintance project between the Kurds and the Arabs in Iraq, aimed at addressing the root causes of division and hostility, and paving the way for communication, understanding, and harmony. The research has led to several findings with the most significant of which is that the disagreement and conflict between the Kurds and the Arabs in Iraq are temporary and fleeting, while brotherhood, harmony, and good neighborliness are deeply rooted in the shared history between the two nations. Moreover, the teachings of Islamic civilizational acquaintance can offer appropriate solutions and establish the foundation for rebuilding balanced relations between the two sides.

This study examines the use of Internet for business purposes in Yemen. The main sectors observed are banking and private trade organizations. It was assumed that security is a main concern in e-commerce. A survey of the banking industry and private business organizations in Yemen is conducted. Through the survey and interviews a thorough study is performed about the: Internet facilities available in Yemen (the infrastructure, the service providers), the literacy and use of ICT in the above two sectors, the level of e-commerce adopted, the main hurdles in the adoption of e-commerce, and measure required to increase the adoption of e-commerce. The study has concluded that in general the above two sectors realize the importance of ecommerce for their business and they are willing to proceed further with the ecommerce. The main causes in the delay of e-commerce adoption are the discrepancies in the infrastructure (technology, service providers and human resources), high costing of the Internet facilities, bureaucratic hurdles in obtaining the facilities, and the non availability of a secure environment. In spite of the fact that they have a high concern about the Internet security, their awareness about the security hazards and the protection measures is 1t minimum. It is also observed that the public awareness of the ICT in general is very low. In light of the data collected, the study has come up with certain recommendations for the authorities interested to improve the e-commerce in Yemen.

This study investigates the relationship between self-regulated learning strategies and self-efficacy among Kulliyyah of Human Sciences IIUM undergraduate students. It also attempts to identify the common self-regulated learning strategies that students use during their study and identify the level of self-efficacy. Lastly, it also investigates if there is a re1ationship between self-regulated ]earning strategies and self-efficacy with the variables of gender, CGPA and major. The study utilizes two questionnaires. The first measures self-regulated learning strategies and the second questionnaire measures students' level of self-efficacy. A stratified random sampling was used to se1ect 293 undergraduate students from the Ku1liyyah of Human Sciences. Descriptive statistics, correlational ana1ysis and cross tabulation are used to analyze the data. Findings provide evidence that respondents frequently use some strategies like "keeping records and monitoring", "reviewing texts, notes and test" in their study with the majority of the students being at the moderate ]eve] of self-efficacy. The study also shows that there is a significant relationship between self-regulated learning strategies and self-efficacy. As for gender and CGPA they did not correlate significantly with self-regulated learning strategies, while major has significant relationship with self-regulated learning strategies. Finally, there is no significant relationship between self-efficacy and variables of gender and CGP A. In contrast, the ]eve] of self-efficacy has a significant relationship with majors.

Telecommunications remain one of the most strategic economic sectors that assume prominence in the current discourses on growth and integration of national economies and transnational production. An effective telecommunications system enables countries to achieve impressive socio-economic gains. However, the Nigerian telecommunications system under state monopoly has been characterized as grossly inefficient and financially a burden on the government, among others. The government has placed a conscious strategy towards regulatory reforms in the sector. The reforms emphasize on market opening by allowing entry of private and transnational operators into the country's telecommunications market, which will eventually lead to a transformation within the industry. This study attempts to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the transformation in Nigeria's telecommunications industry, with emphasis on the impact towards economic growth. The privatization policy in this sector that resulted in the emergence of private and transnational firms, led to telephone services being more easily accessible, cost effective and competitive amongst the operators. The central argument of this study is that a significant correlation exists between market competition and growth, showing Nigerian telecommunications has been positively affected by the new deregulation policy. The positive impact of deregulations was proven by the growth rate of the selected indicators that were arranged into two broad dimensions: economic and technological dimensions. The economic dimension focuses on some economic variables, namely the sector's investment growth rate and revenue percentage compared to GDP, while the technological dimension gives emphasis towards technological and ICT related indicators, to be precise, advanced telecommunications infrastructure and the emergence of new telecommunication services.

This dissertation presents a comprehensive study of the issue of talfiq (concoction) in Islamic banking contracts. Many people believe that Islamic banking is merely a replication of conventional banking and does not meet the spirit (maqasid) of shariah due to the similarities between Islamic finance products and conventional usurious products in their economic effects. The study is divided into five chapters, with the first chapter introducing the problem and the structure of the dissertation .The second chapter delves into the concepts of ijtihad, taq?ld, and ift??, clarifying the terms and conditions related to each concept. The third chapter provides a detailed explanation of the concept of talfiq and its types, as well as the difference between talfiq and other related terms in Islamic jurisprudence .The forth chapter discusses the emergence of Islamic banking and whether adopting an approach of h?lah in forming Islamic financial contracts is acceptable. It also explains why Islamic banks are forced to imitate conventional banking and the economic consequences of such imitation .The fifth chapter provides a critical analysis of the main Islamic financial contracts, including mur?baha, ig?rah muntahia bi’taml?k, and mush?rakah mutan?qisah. The study has adopted an inductive approach in gathering the related information. It also applied an analytic method to discuss the arguments and deduce its results. The study concludes that the main reason why Islamic banks are forced to imitate conventional ones is the banking system, where finance is connected with money creation. Therefore, adopting a different system that separates money creation from finance is necessary to provide authentic halal products.